The Glass Kunoichi: Chapter 6
by The Otaku Writing Freaks
Summary: In a world of shinobi, your abilities are everything and Akane Kato has a particularly dangerous bloodline jutsu possessing unheard of defensive capabilities. Word of her talent falls on evil ears one day and an adventure unlike any other mission she's had before is set in motion.


The Glass Kunoichi

by Spottedleaf9

Chapter 6

By the time we left the village, the pain pill had taken effect and in an effort to not appear weak, I left the stick behind; confident I could make the walk now that I was mostly healed. My breathing came easier and I was certain that the fractures in my ribs had already fused themselves closed. The whole time I traveled, I felt Haru's gaze on me. He seemed to drink in every detail; every wince, careful step, and twitch of my hand.

Unwilling to break protocol, I kept my gaze forward; looking ahead. Kakashi walked at the front of the line followed by me. Haru was in the middle; with Lee behind him and Naruto backing him up. It was strategic placement; ordered by Kakashi who wrongly believed that Haru was defenseless like any other noble.

Naruto finally broke the silence. "So…Akane…do you have anything you want to say?" I silently cursed him and willed him to shut his mouth.

Kakashi looked from the corner of his eye at me as I traveled along behind him, seeing this and knowing it was important to not miss a beat with it, I replied immediately. "Naruto-chan, you're delusional. I'm perfectly content to walk in silence." He huffed at being put down and went quiet; presumably trying to think of a new way to see if I'd read whatever was in Kakashi's journal. On the contrary, I had quickly returned it when my old friend was no longer watching to see my reaction. It had been hard for me to resist taking a peek, but I did have honor and that honor meant I would never snoop on my teacher's private writing unless invited to do so.

"Kawamoto-san, why did you leave your village in the first place?" This was coming from Kakashi as he headed off the group. "I know the mission debriefing told us you were just tired of your royal duties, but I'm sensing there's another layer to this somehow. Mind enlightening us as to why you so desperately wanted to leave home? Surely as royalty you have it made."

He spoke up from behind me in reply. "I would tell you more but there's really not much more to tell." Kakashi fell silent. I think he figured out that he wouldn't be getting his answer. Whether Kawamoto thought he was fooling Kakashi or not I don't think really matters; we both saw that he was lying and nothing would get him to speak the truth.

When we stopped for the night, it was in a town and this one had an inn where we split up; buying Haru his own room in the middle and one for Naruto and Lee on one side of him; Kakashi and I on the other. My teacher insisted he sleep on the floor. Being the second on watch, I was awoke sometime at around midnight by a groggy Lee, which was something I thought no one would ever see. "It's your turn Akane." He actually looked tired for once! When he laid down, he was out in an instant and I wondered, not for the first time, how much energy Lee burned between his intense training and his bouts of "youthfulness".

Posting myself just inside Haru's door, I was very careful to remain silent when I opened it; not wanting to wake the prince up. Standing in the darkness by the door, I breathed in and back out calmly; letting myself acclimate to the area around me, taking in and making note of the sounds of cicadas and various breeds of frog outside. After a while, I could take it no longer and spoke. "Alright…I know you're awake Kawamoto senpai. Why are you just laying there in the dark watching me stand creepily by your door?"

"Coming from the one staring at me creepily by the door? I was just getting ready to go outside for a nice midnight stroll…" He replied simply, a hint of friendly sarcasm mixed in his joyous voice.

"It's my watch so…I guess it's ok if you decide you want to stroll, but know that you're going to have me following close behind you. I can stick to the shadows if you'd really rather feel like you're alone." I tried to keep the charge happy while at the same time making sure the mission was not put in danger.

He sighed slightly in thought. "Well I guess you already know my secret… I'm going out to train." His blue eyes shifted around for a few moments uncertain as to what my answer would be.

A mischievous look flitted across my face. "I'm really not supposed to train either. But…if you're looking for a target that moves…I can easily take _anything_ you throw at me." Moving forward to stand over him as he lay in the bed, I nonchalantly brushed a finger tip over the hands he had clasped atop the covers. _Alright. Now my ability can be activated against him…_ "Let's go. I promise I won't hit you back, if that's what you're worried about." I reasoned that if he had the skills of a ninja, I could let rank go just for now and pretend he was simply one of my comrades; keeping the joking mood alive.

He simply looked up at me, smiled, and got out of bed prepared for a long night.

Safely out of town, I smiled, glad to use my unique jutsu once more. The chakras that made up my bloodline wore my bones down day after day and I thought it nice to actually use the move that was costing me so many broken bones. "Alright. Come at me and don't hold back. I promise you I can take anything you've got." My hands formed a few seals; so rapid only a user of the optical jutsu Sharingan could read them, even if they still couldn't copy the bloodline jutsu.

As I watched he took an awkward stance, his grey spiked hair blowing in the wind. Obviously he didn't know what he was doing. As he stood, the flat of his palm aimed up as if cradling a ball in the palm of his hand, the surface of his skin began to become wet. As I watched, water droplets began raising up off the palm of his hand. Five tear-shaped balls sat in mid air above his hand, wavering to keep shape, before they finally propelled at me at piercing speeds.

I calmly stood my ground, smiling as they sped toward me. To anyone who was watching, it would seem as if the attacks had either passed through me the moment they reached me rather than hitting, or simply as if they had disappeared from midair. What I had done was activate my ultimate defense and as I was now locked on Haru's unique chakra signal, I could block his chakra with my own and make it appear on his skin instead of mine every time he hit me. In other words, we could stand there all day and he could whale on me and nothing would happen. _Of course….if I so choose I could make the chakra I'm condensing on his skin explode…that would be something._ "Nice, but let me give you this tip. You've got your stance all wrong and did it awkwardly. Here's what it should look like." I dropped briefly into position to show him an example before straightening back up and holding open my arms as if to invite another attack in my life. "The stance isn't important for much else except for defense. It doesn't boost chakra control to stand in any particular way, but if you're standing wide open to your opponents like that you're going to have a rough time staying alive very long."

He nodded briefly before trying again, simply trying to learn the very beginning apparently. He seemed confused about the absorption of his attack but didn't question it. He was intent on figuring out his own fighting style, I would assume.

Yawning, I took hit after hit undamaged. Normally, my opponent would've asked by now how I was doing it; how I was evading so flawlessly, but Haru was intent on self improvement and that was something I myself could understand well. As I watched, the chakra I'd infused with his own when I touched him made itself known. Each time I was "struck" by one of Haru's attacks, a swirly, oily pattern like a soap-bubble rainbow appeared on his skin; tight like a second skin and growing to cover more area with each hit. This was the chakra that I now had control of; the chakra that was being put into a fight against me and turned back to harm the wielder instead.

It was dangerous however; I had to keep my grip on it or I could slip up and accidentally cause it to explode on him. I had to remind myself that I was not going to do so and finish my attack; I was simply doing this to help the prince train himself. Thanks to the mix of chakras on his skin and within his body, I would be able to disarm my attack instantly if I so desired; taking comfort in this, I let him attack me to his heart's content. "Haru, you know that you can attack me all out, right?" I knew he was trying his hardest and I was doing something Kakashi had done for me at first. "This is really all you can do?" I was trying to coax more power out of him with a few good natured taunts.

I knew his kind nature and I knew he could not become angry at me, but he could become angry at himself. Concentration contorted on his face and he began trying something that put much more strain on him than the previous attack. It seemed that no matter what ninjitsu he performed he did not use any hand signals. Whether this was some bloodline ability or if it's simply the type of chakra manipulation I do not know, but he seemed very intent on his task. His hand was extended toward me, and his left arm rested on the forearm that stuck out in the night. As far as I could tell nothing was happening and it was a failed attack. His hand began to shake as he struggled vainly to control his chakra I would assume, when finally his face went slack. All around me dust flew into the air, the ground next to my foot became indented from some mysterious force, and all the trees blew furiously in the wake of it. It sounded almost as if a bubble had popped, but not just a simple pop; this seemed forceful. Almost like a thick rubber ball being blown up to its limit and then exploding in bits. A few hairs on my head lifted, and all went still. It must be a ninjitsu, or my shield wouldn't keep it off me.

Realizing that the area of his attack was large, my gaze immediately darted to Haru's skin. As he had tried to pin this attack my head, he had focused it on his own. Haru's entire head was covered with the swirling rainbow colors that represented my chakra coating on him. "Haru….that was certainly something new. Nice work…but unfortunately, you are still far too weak to lay a finger on me." I giggled at Haru; feeling great to let loose like this. It wasn't that often I got to show off the pride and joy of the Kato family's female lineage.

I looked over at him across the grass to see if my teasing was getting him riled up. He huffed, his hair seeming to breathe with him; as if it rose and fell gently with the rhythm of his breath on his back, he was winded and tired. I knew he had far more chakra than that but the strain of using it for the first time was exhausting. I thought he was going to stop and prepared to head in, as I began to turn I noticed he took stance again and prepared to attack. "I don't know very much about chakra manipulation yet, but I do know I have lots more chakra where that came from. This is only the beginning, as exhaustion is something I can deal with." As I looked at the young prince who stood so determined, I was reminded of Naruto for a moment. It was going to be a long night, and I was happy to be the one to help.

As we fought on into the early hours of the morning, Haru continued to work harder on manipulating his chakras and even though I'd never tell him, I was thoroughly impressed that he could already use two types; wind and water. This prince…this noble would make a better shinobi and it saddened me to think of him sitting on a throne somewhere; his talents forever wasted. But for as long as he went at me, I stood there and took it; perfect support for the improvement he sought.


End file.
